PINEVILLE, La., - Science has come to life for CENLA fifth graders through the Louisiana National Guard youth program Pelican State STARBASE at Camp Beauregard in Pineville.
STARBASE is a Department of Defense funded program aimed at fifth grade students in the Rapides Parish area. The five-day interactive program focuses on the STEM curriculum of science, technology, engineering and math, in both the hands-on and classroom environment.
“It began in 1999 in Orleans Parish,” said Cheryl Arbour, STARBASE director. “When Katrina hit in 2005, we relocated here to Camp Beauregard where it has continued to grow and thrive.”
We are completely self sufficient, and this year we will have 32 academies come through our program with each one averaging 20 to 35 students, said Arbour.
STARBASE covers areas such as physics and nanotechnology, and even exploring some space and NASA concepts.
“We use the core components as required by the DoD, but we also individualize our curriculum a little bit as well,” Arbour continued. “We have a 20-hour curriculum that we balance between classroom, computer labs and hands-on activities.”
The students conduct an engineering-design project that helps them learn about space and lab modules. The aspiring young scientists also learn about and build rockets that are launched at the end of their five-day journey and then get to use flight simulators in the computer lab.
“During this decade, employment in science and engineering is expected to increase for all occupations,” said Arbour. “Because less than 1 percent of current elementary school students will seek advanced education in the science, math and engineering fields … we need to increase the interest.”
Another goal of STARBASE is for kids to learn to work as a team. Students are placed into engineer groups once they arrive and learn to work and communicate together for a common goal.
“The staff at STARBASE is teaching teamwork through positive reinforcement,” said Cherie Jurgenson, teacher for the JB Nachman Elementary School’s gifted program. “They learn the value of working as a team.”
The staff also works closely with the teachers of the visiting schools to give them new ideas for educating the students once they return to their regular school environment.
“It is an excellent program that offers great teaching techniques,” said Robin Bennett, a fifth grade JB Nachman Elementary School English teacher. “The use of the CPS (classroom performance system) and the handheld clickers made the kids more excited about learning and more involved in the lessons.”
Bennett has been bringing her classes to STARBASE for a few years and can see how much both the parents and the students enjoy this program.
“When the school year begins, my kids ask me when we are going to STARBASE,” she said. “This program introduces the students to more than we as a school could ever expose them to.”
STARBASE looks to grow in the future by reopening a second program in New Orleans.
“We have requested to start a second STARBASE site back at Jackson Barracks for the fall of 2011,” Arbour added. “We want to begin reaching the kids of both Orleans and St. Bernard Parishes.”